One Denver TV station that has increased its morning audience significantly is poised for “rebranding” (new slogan, set, music, graphics) Jan. 1, and is very much in the race to be No. 2 in Denver TV.

KDVR-Fox31 has a good story to tell.

It started with a clean sweep in the executive offices of the KDVR and KWGN sister stations, the dis- mantling of “The Deuce” and the hiring of seasoned broadcasters. The grown-ups are back in charge.

Peter Maroney, a veteran broadcaster as both general manager and news director, most recently in Richmond, Va., was hired by Local TV LLC as president and general manager of both stations in March 2010. Maroney replaced Dennis Leonard, who oversaw layoffs during the merger. Leonard’s rock ‘n’ roll style did little to elevate the stations’ fortunes.

When Maroney took over, “There wasn’t a plan,” he said. He calmed the place down, defined the target as women 25-54, and hired a news director. Edward Kosowski, who had led newsrooms in Miami, his native Chicago, San Francisco and Boston, was working at CNBC when he was named KDVR-KWGN vice president for news and digital content, succeeding Carolyn Kane, whose background was more in entertainment than news.

The station’s new signature — “Your questions answered” — steers away from Fox and toward Denver. The first thing viewers will notice is a new set, dumping the metal sports style for something more female-friendly. Under recently hired sports director Nick Griffith, there is “a lot of territory beyond professional sports” that Maroney expects to cover.

Stalwart anchor Ron Zappolo is dabbling in sports again and can write his own ticket at Fox31. “Age is not a factor when it comes to news,” Maroney said.

Now, after the most important ratings book since their start, Maroney and Kosowski are melding old-school journalistic values with the modern push into social media — and seeing an uptick in the numbers. They acknowledge the relationship of broadcasters and viewers has changed.

“We edit,” Maroney said, ” but the public expects to have a voice and provide feedback.”

In the morning, “Good Day Colorado” displays the usual gabby patter and repetition, talk-radio-style, with an emphasis on the weather. Like most morning TV, it’s not designed to be watched continuously, but in interrupted bits between shower and coffee.

Jennifer Broome affirms that it’s cold, Ken Clark parses slow-moving traffic, Dan Daru does his comic/ reporter shtick, Melody (“Mel”) Mendez keeps even the most excruciatingly dull interviews moving with Mike Headrick as a solid co-anchor, and the station cross-promotes the Fox network’s “X Factor” results. Morning business as usual.

“Good Day” is a solid bid for viewer loyalty in that part of the schedule where habits are hard to break.

The numbers

In November of 2004, KDVR was dead last in the morning. Now it’s tied with KMGH in total household ratings, 5-7 a.m. The ratings for Fox31’s morning block passed CBS4 in the November sweeps, in the 25-54-year-old demographic considered the main news audience.

Fox31 trails 7News by two-tenths of a rating point in the morning race for second place behind market leader 9News, which still has nearly as great a share of the breakfast audience as the other three stations combined.

By the numbers: at 6 a.m., KUSA leads with a 4.6 rating and 22 share. KMGH is No. 2 with a 1.8 rating, 9 share. KDVR is No. 3 with a 1.6 rating, 7 share. And KCNC is No. 4 with a 1.4 rating, 7 share.

(In November 2011, in the Denver market, one rating point is equal to 16,500 people in the 25-54 demographic.)

The goal is not dethroning historic market leader KUSA but leading the rest of the pack chasing KUSA.

The Denver TV morning wars remain vicious, as morning becomes the most lucrative spot on the schedule for stations and as the definition of “early” moves further back in time. The local onslaught begins at 4:30 a.m. on KUSA, part of a trend nationally moving the start time closer to yesterday than “Today.”

Maroney and Kosowski have no plans to enter the early-early fray: “Viewership is so low” at 4:30 a.m., Maroney said, “it’s not worth it.”

There is a reason the local TV racket is so bitterly competitive. It’s not just vanity or the rush of getting news first, a point of journalistic pride.

Ultimately, some say, stations are battling for their very existence.

Industry insider Steve Ridge of TV consulting firm Frank Magid holds that stations have to be No. 1 or 2 in their markets in order to make money: “I think third-, fourth-, fifth-place stations are in a very tight spot in their ability to make the investment and really make it in the game.”

These guys are fighting for their continued existence in the changing media world.